Youthful Team USA Heads Into Olympic Knockout Rounds With High Hopes and Swagger

No NHL players, no problem. 

The United States men’s ice hockey team completed a clean sweep of its preliminary group and earned a bye into the quarterfinals of the 2022 Olympic tournament. The Americans will attempt to keep their Olympic medal dreams alive Wednesday when they face Slovakia.

The men's national team is one of the youngest teams the United States has ever put together, with the roster averaging 25 years old. Early in the tournament, teams have tried to use their size to disrupt the U.S., but to no avail. The Americans' speed has proved to be both a nuisance and the driving force for their success.

"I think this is another great building block for our team," goaltender Drew Commesso said after recording a 3-2 win against Germany, silver medalists from the 2018 Winter Olympics.

"Coach [David Quinn] has been preaching to us all tournament that we have to get better every single game, and this game definitely taught us a lot. [The Germans are a] very physical team, you know, they're big, they really brought it to us. We're a little bit of a younger team. We play with speed and skill, and that's how teams are gonna try and counter us. But I have faith in our coaches to get as prepared as possible."

Formerly the head coach of the New York Rangers, Quinn's squad has outscored opponents 15-4 through three games. Quinn believes that is a testament to the character of his players as much as their skillset. 

"When we put this team together, we obviously wanted really good players. And we were able to accomplish that. But we wanted good people too," Quinn said after taking down Germany on Sunday. "In a tournament like this, that's very important. Make sure not only to get good players, you get the right people. And we certainly have done that."

Andy Marlin/NHLI via Getty Images

High character has also, perhaps, made it easier for the USA team to come together under abnormal and unprecedented circumstances. The official team roster was announced on January 14. All but three players–Brian O’Neill, Strauss Mann, and Brian Cooper–were together for two practices in Los Angeles before making their way to Beijing. The team had another four practices and an exhibition against China before opening the 2022 Olympic tournament against China on February 10. 

"It's kinda tough. Coach had been moving (things) around to try and find what matches work best," said Matty Beniers after the 8-0 win against China. The No. 2 pick in the 2021 NHL Draft by the Seattle Kraken, Beniers has centered the second line with Brian Cooper and Nick Abruzzese throughout the tournament. 

With a short turnaround, it's not unusual for teams to create forward lines of defensive pairings based on familiarity or experience. One glance at the top group for the Americans, and you quickly notice three of the five 30-somethings on the roster, including captain Andy Miele, are present. 

However, the line was not created with age and experience in mind. Rather, Quinn and his coaching staff found their veterans were perhaps too worried about being leaders when paired with the younger players. 

"I thought maybe they were taking on a little bit more responsibility with the younger players on the line where they maybe weren't focusing just on their game," Quinn said. 

The top line of Kenny Agostino, O’Neill and Miele up front with Steven Kampfer and Aaron Ness on the blue line has struck the right balance of leading by example while giving players freedom to focus on their game. That veteran line accounts for 12 of the 38 points tallied by the United States and has provided a steady foundation for the young stars of tomorrow.

The team's younger players have an undeniable belief in themselves. But don't confuse that with arrogance.
 
"We believe in ourselves. There's an unwavering confidence in our group. People don't know what we know about ourselves. You know, we just–there's a swagger to us right now," Quinn said.

The U.S. is the only team with a perfect record ahead of the quarterfinals. It also has the largest goal differential in the tournament. Now, all it has to do is keep winning to avoid elimination. 

The Americans have earned the tournament's No. 1 seed, passing every test during the group stage. That said, Quinn and his team know they haven't reached their ultimate goal. 

"There's a believability that's going on here over the last week, and it's put us in this position. But we haven't really accomplished anything that we want to accomplish."